Heavily cynical, frequently funny and strangely thrilling, Robert Altman's biting satire on Hollywood and film industry is one of the most provocative works of art ever filmed. Opening with an iconically long and honorable shot and closing with one of the most memorable and cynical endings I've ever seen, The Player is one of the weirdest, yet bravest and most intelligent American comedies ever created—it's one that doesn't waste a minute with superfluous elements, even if it takes us two hours to understand the purpose of one or two apparently useless plot points.

Tim Robbins stars as Griffin Mill, a Hollywood studio executive who is being threatened with death by one of the screenwriters whose script he rejected. Wrapped in…

Robert Altman is a director that I'm trying to watch more films from and it's gone pretty good so far. I liked 3 Women and Short Cuts a lot and now I can include The Player alongside those two. I always find myself drawn towards films about the film industry, so naturally I was excited for this one. Tim Robbins plays a Hollywood studio executive who is getting death threats from a writer whose script he rejected, but he doesn't know which writer it is. I really liked the different directions the story went in, as it went to some pretty…

The Player is a very enjoyable watch and it's nice seeing Robert Altman turning the spotlight on Hollywood and the intricacies of show business. The movie works very well as a satire of the film making industry, showing how savage and tasteless the process can get. The several cameos were fun to see and while the story might not be very compelling, it’s certainly ingenious and very entertaining. The final moments are terrific as they reinforce how shallow and predictable Hollywood usually is, but totally contrast with the way things turn out for the main character Griffin at the same time.

It's nice to see a film that plays with the usual Hollywood tropes yet at the same time expose something rather truthful about the way the system works, and suddenly the in-joke being presented hits you. Robert Altman, a director who always was searching for a manner to go against the norms amidst the studio influence gives a clear picture of what harm it does to the most valuable thing behind what forms what we come to view; the visions. Amazingly, The Player chooses never to head into the territory where it would highly offend anyone working within the business, but there's a uniqueness to the satire we're finding here that just allows it to stand out from other films…

What is so brilliant about The Player is the way the story is set and displays the mythos of Hollywood while critiquing the business side of the film industry and hiding its own story in Hollywood conventions. On first glance you could take this picture as stated in the synopsis as a Hitchcockian murder mystery with a bunch of Hollywood insider jokes. And while that is true and you would certainly have to be a film connoisseur of sorts in order to understand some of these tidbits; the beauty in layers goes much more beyond than just that.

Almost like a painting on canvas with the murder and love story on the foreground it is in the background that cannot…

My third Altman. I really loved the metacinematic jokes in this movie, they make me feel smart since I know most of them. The film had its classic Altman humor which is kind of ironic and is more obvious in this film than in McCabe or the Long Goodbye because it is satirical. From dead ducks, to posters with ominous messages, his humor is always there. I also loved the parallels between the film references and the actual storyline. For example, in the opening shot, someone mentions Orson Welles's Touch of Evil and how it didn't cut for the first 6 minutes and set up everything, and another guy says he hates all the "cuts", and this is funny because…

Robert Altman is a director that I'm trying to watch more films from and it's gone pretty good so far. I liked 3 Women and Short Cuts a lot and now I can include The Player alongside those two. I always find myself drawn towards films about the film industry, so naturally I was excited for this one. Tim Robbins plays a Hollywood studio executive who is getting death threats from a writer whose script he rejected, but he doesn't know which writer it is. I really liked the different directions the story went in, as it went to some pretty…

Being that this was my second viewing this film, it completely caught me off guard...

A great reflection on the filmmaking business; through witty, in-joke hollywood references, meta-esque screenwriting, and Altman's signature filmmaking style. This film is such a great fictional look at the parallels of movies and reality, and how they are essentially the same and not. Does the bad guy get away, in real life? or should he have been caught, like in the movies? Can it be a weird combination of both?

I did not "get it" the first time I saw this film. And I don't think much of you "regular folk" will either. I honestly think that if you want to experience the full effect…

The way that Altman is able to imitate the script's sarcastic tone through his camera is insane. That opening shot is one of the greatest ever, an ironic opening long take that references Welles through dialogue but really just bleeds Altman in every other way.